ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani engineer, Waqar Zia, has been recognized with a prestigious Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for his pioneering work in accelerating video streaming.
Mr. Zia’s research has revolutionized the way people watch and stream videos today, making it possible to enjoy favorite shows and movies without interruption, no matter the internet speed or device.
For over a decade, Mr. Zia has been working in this field, and in the late 2000s, he was part of a team of engineers from major technology companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple that created a new standard for video streaming known as ‘Dash.’ The standard divided videos into smaller parts and saved them to the server in different qualities. During video streaming, the quality is changed according to the user’s internet speed, ensuring uninterrupted playback.
Making video streaming easier and faster for users
Before the development of the Dash standard, streaming videos on mobiles and computers was a challenge due to slow internet speeds causing videos to freeze or buffer excessively. Today, Dash is considered the international standard for on-demand video and live streaming over the internet, making video streaming easier and faster for users worldwide.
Mr. Zia expressed his surprise at receiving the award, as his work had not received much recognition until now. He also mentioned that the representation of Pakistan in foreign technology research is relatively less compared to other countries, but he is proud to represent his country in the world of technology.
According to some estimates, over half of the internet traffic, today is for videos, and users spend hours a day on streaming websites like YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix. Thanks to Mr. Zia’s work and the Dash standard, video streaming has become a seamless experience for millions of users worldwide.
The Pakistani engineer currently works as a Standard Lead at Apple, a technology company in Germany. Mr. Zia’s achievement is an inspiration to all aspiring engineers and innovators in Pakistan and around the world, and his contributions have changed video streaming forever.
